This chapter outlines the loft scene itself, starting with an in-depth look at the 1972 New York Musicians' Jazz Festival—an event cited by many musicians as a germinal moment for the scene. The ...
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This chapter outlines the loft scene itself, starting with an in-depth look at the 1972 New York Musicians' Jazz Festival—an event cited by many musicians as a germinal moment for the scene. The movement is traced through its peak around mid-decade, and into its subsequent decline amidst a string of new financial and structural challenges. These final years also saw a growing number of critiques leveled by musicians who disputed the efficacy of the lofts. Whereas the movement had begun as a campaign against industry exploitation, its failure to develop viable alternatives ultimately made it vulnerable to the criticism that lofts merely repackaged the inadequate conditions of nightclub performance.Less

The Jazz Loft Era

Michael C. Heller

Published in print: 2016-12-13

This chapter outlines the loft scene itself, starting with an in-depth look at the 1972 New York Musicians' Jazz Festival—an event cited by many musicians as a germinal moment for the scene. The movement is traced through its peak around mid-decade, and into its subsequent decline amidst a string of new financial and structural challenges. These final years also saw a growing number of critiques leveled by musicians who disputed the efficacy of the lofts. Whereas the movement had begun as a campaign against industry exploitation, its failure to develop viable alternatives ultimately made it vulnerable to the criticism that lofts merely repackaged the inadequate conditions of nightclub performance.

In histories of music and audio technologies, and particularly in narratives about jazz, record producers tend to fall by the wayside. They're seldom acknowledged and generally unknown. But without ...
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In histories of music and audio technologies, and particularly in narratives about jazz, record producers tend to fall by the wayside. They're seldom acknowledged and generally unknown. But without them and their contributions to the art form, we’d have little on record of some of the most important music ever created. This oral history—organizing interviews gathered by music scholar Michael Jarrett—tells the stories behind some of jazz's best-selling and most influential albums. Beginning in the mid-'30s and continuing to the present, it draws together conversations with over fifty producers, musicians, engineers, and label executives. It shines a light on the world of making jazz record albums by letting producers tell their own stories and share their experiences in creating the American jazz canon. Packed with fascinating stories and fresh perspectives on over 200 albums and artists—including legends such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, and Miles Davis, as well as contemporary artists such as George Benson, Diana Krall, and Norah Jones—Pressed for All Time tells the unknown stories of the men and women who helped to shape the quintessential American sound.Less

Pressed for All Time : Producing the Great Jazz Albums from Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday to Miles Davis and Diana Krall

Michael Jarrett

Published in print: 2016-10-17

In histories of music and audio technologies, and particularly in narratives about jazz, record producers tend to fall by the wayside. They're seldom acknowledged and generally unknown. But without them and their contributions to the art form, we’d have little on record of some of the most important music ever created. This oral history—organizing interviews gathered by music scholar Michael Jarrett—tells the stories behind some of jazz's best-selling and most influential albums. Beginning in the mid-'30s and continuing to the present, it draws together conversations with over fifty producers, musicians, engineers, and label executives. It shines a light on the world of making jazz record albums by letting producers tell their own stories and share their experiences in creating the American jazz canon. Packed with fascinating stories and fresh perspectives on over 200 albums and artists—including legends such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, and Miles Davis, as well as contemporary artists such as George Benson, Diana Krall, and Norah Jones—Pressed for All Time tells the unknown stories of the men and women who helped to shape the quintessential American sound.